This invention relates to a water cooled panel which provides an elongated service life, is easy for maintenance and produced at a low manufacturing cost and intended to be used in an electric arc furnace for steelmaking.
Recently, UHP operations are gaining wide acceptance in the steel manufacturing industry. They are defined as those in and electric furnace equipped with a transformer, the capacity of which is considered too large in the conventional sense relative to the melting capacity of the furnace, where heat of the arc is so piercing that the side walls tend to be extensively and severely damaged while melting proceeds rapidly. A variety of measures have been taken to protect the side walls and one of such measures is use of metallic elements in place of refractories. There are known, as typical examples, a cast iron block with cooling water conduits passing therethrough and a water cooled panel of weld fabrication with baffle plates inside to form water ways, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,843,106 and 3,940,552. However, these conventional arts are confronted by certain disadvantages. The former has shortcomings of heavy weight, small cooling capacity, high manufacturing cost, etc. and the latter is susceptible to heat stress distortions due to its construction, particularly at the sides where cooling by water is also poorly effected, which leads to chances of water leakage.
This invention offers a panel, free of these drawbacks, of more safety, easy maintenance and low manufacturing cost for installation in the electric furnace.